Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

FDA to change regulations regarding side-effect information in drug ads

The Food and Drug Administration is about to make it easier for you to understand both the benefits and risks of a prescription medication, it was revealed at the Second Annual Medical Liaison Seminar sponsored here by Scientific Advantage LLC.

2 May 2005

Being a party animal is good for you!

Scientists in the US say that being the life and soul of the party apart from being great fun could be good for the heart.

1 May 2005

New camera-in-a-pill helps diagnose and evaluate diseases of the esophagus

A new camera-in-a-pill can help doctors diagnose and evaluate diseases of the esophagus including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), erosive esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus (a pre-cancerous condition) without the use of a traditional endoscope.

1 May 2005

Tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than thought

A recent study found that tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than many health care professionals realize, with national prevalence rates averaging 16.7 percent. To neurosurgeon Dr. Gail Rosseau, this isn't surprising.

1 May 2005

War veterans are more likely to be heavy drinkers, heavy smokers and obese

Men who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are more likely to be heavy drinkers, heavy smokers and obese than men who are non-combat veterans or non-veterans, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 45th annual Conference of Cardiovascular Disease, Epidemiology and Prevention.

1 May 2005

Discrimination leads to coronary artery calcification in African-American women

The more discrimination African-American women report, the more likely they are to have coronary artery calcification, a buildup of calcium in the vessels that is associated with atherosclerosis, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 45th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

1 May 2005

Severely obese children have lipoprotein profiles that signal early risk of cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome

"The message is urgent about the importance of prevention of cardiovascular disease in childhood. Lifestyle modification with appropriate diet and exercise can reduce cardiovascular risk in children," said lead author Daniel L. Preud'Homme, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Wright State University School of Medicine and director of the lipid clinic at The Children's Medical Center, both in Dayton, Ohio.

1 May 2005

Fiber supplements may lower cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetics

Fiber supplements lower "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increase "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Sixth Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

1 May 2005

Computerized tools for diagnosing heart attack could be inaccurate in some people

A computerized tool to help emergency room physicians determine whether a patient is having a heart attack may not work as well among some racial and ethnic groups, according to research of almost 12,000 patients at nine medical centers.

1 May 2005

Obese people - add yet another worry to the list

Dementia is now the latest scare factor to be added to an ever growing list of threats which so far includes diabetes, heart disease and stroke, which obese people are apparently more prone to.

1 May 2005

Study shows genes predict how well diabetes drug will work

How well a person with type 2 diabetes responds to a diabetes drug may well depend upon his or her genetic make-up, according to a study published in the May issue of Diabetes Care. The study found that people who carried certain genotypes responded less favorably to rosiglitazone, a drug often prescribed for people with diabetes, than carriers of other genotypes.

28 Apr 2005

Research may re-define management of heart failure in diabetes

Control of oxidised copper levels in the body may be as important as lowering blood glucose levels in preventing cardiovascular complications in diabetes mellitus, according to New Zealand researchers.

28 Apr 2005

Just in case you thought it was safe to fly!

Just in case you were not already too scared to fly, a study by a team at Belfast University and Hospital now tells us that most air passengers are risking their health flying by being starved of oxygen.

27 Apr 2005

Respiratory syncytial virus affects the elderly and high-risk adults as much as influenza

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), primarily seen as a cause of illness in infants and children, often affects the elderly and high-risk adults as much as influenza, a study by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers demonstrates.

27 Apr 2005

Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood

UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened.

27 Apr 2005

Update for WIC food program

In an effort to encourage mothers and their children to adopt a healthier lifestyle a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies plans some changes to its WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), which was launched in 1974 as a nutrition program for low-income women, infants, and children.

27 Apr 2005

Risk scores identify young people with hardened arteries

Armed with more knowledge about what cardiovascular disease looks like in people ages 15 to 34, co-authors from the University of Texas Health Science Center, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research and institutions in Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana will report...

27 Apr 2005

Scientists add an important piece to the intricate puzzle of type-1 diabetes

For some time, scientists have known that a regenerative or repair process -- involving the development of specialized structures called tubular complexes -- is switched on during physical and chemical trauma to the pancreas (the gland that manufactures and secretes crucial insulin in the body).

27 Apr 2005

Antibiotics do not prevent heart attacks

Clinicians and researchers have found that more than three quarters of heart attack patients have been infected with chlamydia pneumoniae - a bacteria found in arteries of heart attack patients - and multiple studies have found this can double the risk of developing subsequent heart attacks.

27 Apr 2005

Patients' lives at risk from substandard drugs say heart specialists

Global action is needed to counter the dangers of substandard life-saving drugs that are putting patients' lives and health at risk, according to heart specialists writing in the new (19 April) issue of Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.

27 Apr 2005